The Illinois State Board of Elections says that over 1 million mail-in ballot applications have been requested in the state. Avoiding the polls and mailing in a ballot ahead of the November 3rd election is proving to be a popular option.
Matt Dietrich of the state board of elections says the number of mail-in ballot requests have doubled since the 2018 General Election: “The previous high for mail-in ballot requests was 430,000 ballots. Those were cast in the 2018 General Election by mail, so it’s very likely that if not certain that we will set a new record. I think this indicates that there is a lot of concern among voters to avoid potential COVID infection at in-person polling places.”
If you have not received a mail-in ballot application yet, you can request one online at Elections.Illinois.gov. The ballots will be mailed out beginning September 24th after candidate eligibility and candidate order is finalized in the middle of the month.
Morgan County Clerk Jill Waggoner said prior to the Morgan County Commissioners’ meeting Monday morning that approximately 1,800 applications for vote by mail in the county have been submitted. The Journal Courier reports that request numbers as of Friday are these: Cass County reported 878, Scott County reported 244, Pike County reported 664, Macoupin County reported 4,058, Schuyler County has received 618 requests and Sangamon County reported 24,645 with Greene and Brown Counties providing no report.
Ballot applications will be accepted through October 29th. Mail ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day on November 3rd and must be received by November 17th to the local county clerk’s office to be tallied.